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Jen Minnis
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Where did you find out you could create this?
Is it possible for others to do?
How did you begin?
I started out making artistamps as a way of creating an easily recreated small art type that could be used in other pieces of collage as a homemade ephemera. I have always been facinated by things that have traveled through the mail... stamps, brown paper, postcards... they all carry a bit of the mystery of journies unknown. I discovered mail art though artistamps and was hooked. Albanlea arose out of the stories behind the stamps I produced.
Where did you find out you could create this?
I started making Artistamps in 1998. In 1999 I found the Artistamps Yahoo Group (which was at that time OneList... then eGoups... then Yahoo). There I found a group of people who enjoyed making these tiny artworks as much as I did. From the inspiration of other artistamp makers, I started to fill out my world in order to have material to draw from for my stamps.
Unfortunatly, life got in the way. I got married and wedding planning took over my life. Albanlea settled into a little bubble of time and progress halted. It was only when Eliza Badurina offered a class in world building called Fantastic Journeys that I pulled out the long dusty notebook in which Albanlea currently lived and started delving into mysteries again.
Once I got started again, Albanlea took on a life of it's own. There are many characters living within this layered and diverse culture that speak to me regularly and bring me back to creating and "care taking".
Is it possible for others to do?
Certianly! All you need is a bit of imagination and a few art supplies and you too can create your own world.
Writer's do it every day when they create the worlds you read about in novels. Game designer's do it for the video games you see. Many people design worlds specificly for role playing in. Creating a world to create art in and around is a natural extension of our desire to dream and express our unique selves.
Just start by thinking and dreaming a bit about what type of world you would like to have. Take notes. Keep it all together in a little notebook and let it evolve. Pretty soon, it will take on a life of it's own.
